MARK SABLE ON DC SPECIAL: CYBORG

[MattBrady]

by Chris Arrant

Created in the dawning days of the 1980s by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, Cyborg has become a standout member of the Teen Titans both in comics and in animation. But rarely has he had the stage all to himself, but that’s about to change.

The six issue miniseries DC Special: Cyborg debuts on May 21st, and promises to get underneath the skin (and metal) to find out what makes Cyborg tick. Written by Mark Sable with artwork by Ken Lashley and Jonathan Glapion, the mini promises to look into secrets from Vic Stone’s past that effect him to this day. Dubbed “the greatest Teen Titan of them all” in DC advertisements, what better time than now to find out more?

Newsarama: Mark, thanks for talking to us. Cyborg's been the core to the Teen Titans since he joined back in 1980, and this is his first step into the limelight. What's going on with this miniseries?

Mark Sable: Without giving away too much, it deals with following question: In a world where people, particularly soldiers, are maimed every day, how come they don't have access to Cyborg's technology? If I'm asking that question as a writer, you can bet some of the brighter minds in the DCU are asking it as well, and at least one of them is acting on it. As a result, Vic is going to be faced with the following choice - does he have the right to take away his life-saving cybernetics from others if they are pursuing goals he doesn't approve of? This all sounds very vague, but this series makes that decision very, very personal for Vic.

NRAMA: The solicitations for the first issue present some dark clouds from Vic's past. Is this going back to the accident with his parents?

MS: It's going back even further than that. Some things seemed coincidental in Vic's life from before he became Cyborg to more recent continuity are going to be revealed as something larger than Vic has known.

That said, it's not a major retcon - I tried to treat Wolfman and Perez's truly brilliant origin and the work of others that followed them as reverently as possible.

NRAMA: Cyborg can't be the only familiar face we'll see in the series; who else can we look forward to seeing?

MS: From his private life, S.T.A.R. Dr. Sarah Charles and her fiancée, Vic's friend Sarah Simms, who teaches physically disabled children, and a character once thought dead who he has some unresolved issues with. From the DCU, a villain who's tangled with the Top Guns of the DCU, and the squad of metas he's assembled to take Vic down. There's a team, called "The Phantom Limbs", and whether they're good, bad or something in between is for Vic and the readers to decide.

And there's Titans. Lots and lots of Titans.

NRAMA: For those who haven't kept up with who Vic Stone is, can you tell us about him?

MS: He's a human being who was fascinating even before he became a superhero, one of the most three dimensional African-American characters in comics. He was a lonely, sheltered kid, torn between his upper middle class family (think The Cosbys with a mad scientist for a dad)and the comaraderie of his gangbanging friends (think The Wire).

Vic was not only an Olympic level athlete, he was, as he's said himself, a "human computer", born with a genius IQ. He was and is someone always very much aware of how others perceive him, and constantly trying to escape a stereotypical label, whether it's a home-schooled nerd, a jock who hasn't lived up to his potential, or any number of assumptions people make because of race.

If this wasn't enough, as result of an accident (or was it?) - he had Molybdenum steel grafted to his body and was given cybernetic limbs by his father. This isn't the Six Million dollar man we're talking about, his limbs are interchangeable weapons, the capabilities of which we've yet to fully see in 20 plus years. He was the first Transformer, if you will. But what many might view as a gift, he viewed (and to some extent still views) as a curse.

Despite all this trauma, Vic chose to deal with becoming a "monster" by becoming a hero, which I think says all there is to know about his strength character.

Vic is an incredible mix of untapped power and pathos, someone who can more than hold their own with Superman in battle, and has as rich an inner life as Batman. Doing research for this project, I was shocked that he hadn't been give his own an ongoing, let alone a mini.

NRAMA: This is your first work for DC, so how did it come to be and what's it like?

MS: When Grounded, my creator owned book from Image with artist Paul came out, Jeanine Schaeffer asked me to come in and pitch Teen Titans and Supergirl stories to Eddie Berganza. Of the Titans pitches, one became a two issue Titans arc, drawn by Sean Murphy, about the Titans first meeting with the Flash's gallery Rogues. Unfortunately, with Bart Allen's death, that's been shelved. Another of those pitches became DC Special: Cyborg.

Jeanine, Eddie and Assistant Editor Adam Schlagman helped me shape that pitch into what I think is a kick ass Cyborg solo series. Editors often get a bad rap for giving frustrating notes, but the feedback I got from that crew not only made this series better, but made me a better writer.

NRAMA: You're working with artists Ken Lashley and Jonathan Glapion. Can you tell us what you think about what you've seen of their work so far?

MS: I'm absolutely floored by it. This is my first time working with an artist who wasn't inking his own work, so I was glad to see Jonathan more than did justice to Ken's pencils. And Ken really knocked this out of the park. He deals just as well with the tender emotional scenes as he does with massive battles where I'm sure I made him draw way more characters and rubble than he would have liked. Another thing Ken deserves credit for is rendering distinct but real African-American and other minority characters, something rare in mainstream comics.

[Darthphere]

Of course I know I'll get the "You don't have to read it!" comments, but really, what's the point behind this? Who asked for this?

[Dragavon]

Originally Posted by Darthphere

Of course I know I'll get the "You don't have to read it!" comments, but really, what's the point behind this? Who asked for this?

Nobody really did. But they are writing what could be a really good mini about Cyborg. People should at least take a look at the first issue.

[avengingtitan]

Originally Posted by Darthphere

Of course I know I'll get the "You don't have to read it!" comments, but really, what's the point behind this? Who asked for this?

I've been asking for it for years. Cyborg as a Solo character thats awesome. Too bad its only a mini.

[SimonMoon5]

Originally Posted by MattBrady

MS: Vic is an incredible mix of untapped power and pathos, someone who can more than hold their own with Superman in battle

Uh... since when?

[achilles140]

I like Cyborg, I always have, and I'm glad he's finally getting his own mini, (and with much better art than the Raven mini). But since when has he been "more than able to hold his own" with Superman? To my recollection, that's been, oh I don't know....NEVER!

He's a great character, but he's always been mid-level in power, never at Kryptonian/Wonder Woman/Captain Marvel levels. That sort of makes me wonder a bit about this.

[SpyGuy]

I'm really glad to see Vic finally getting some love from DC. I don't know why DC felt they needed to add DC SPECIAL to the title instead of simply calling it CYBORG, but at least he has a series of his own.

[Edogawa1983]

in his very own "emo" series?

[ElijahSnowFan]

i'm in -- i'll give DC credit where it's due.

they have really nice characters in their stable -- a Doctor Fate, Captain Comet, Cyborg, etc. -- and i'm ALWAYS begging for them to use them and give them depth.

i'm glad to see Cyborg get a shot -- i don't know about standing in against Superman, but he's a really nice character, one of the best of the 80s, in my opinion.

[Wormdrink]

i think cyborg is a great character. he's a strong emotional person and physical person. when the rumors about him joining JLA were going around i was super excited. then i was bummed that they went with tornado instead.

i really hope this mini turns into an ongoing.

[The6th]

I am so in!!!!

Sable gets Cyborg, from what I can see, and I'm hoping he'll make him justice. That first issue is as good as bought!!

[aric_dacia]

I love the old Titans... but I hope this Cyborg thing is better than Raven # 1 was. I love Raven and I love Marv Wolfman... but that art was hideous and the story was NOT GOOD. It doesn't bode well for the Winick Titans relaunch and this Cyborg story if that's the level of quality we Titans fans can look forward to.

[Hardy]

....then we have nothing to fear. I'm not a huge Cyborg fan, but Mark's Grounded mini was rockin' like Dokken, so I'm definitely on board for this. Based on his grasp of "teen heroes" as evinced in said mini, I would really dig on seein' him tackle some more Titans.

[swinney72]

Just last week I re-read the Cyborg issue of the original NTT origins miniseries, "Tales of the New Teen Titians" #1.

It occurred to me that this one issue was at least as dense as a whole 6 issues of modern comics. The whole story is in that issue with room for tons of soap opera, flash backs, and reaction from the rest of the Titans. I hope his origin doesn't get changed up too much. It was already a classic single issue.

And the person from Vic's past who he thought was dead... it's gotta be Ron!

[Force Commander]

Sounded great... until I reached this point:

"...does he have the right to take away his life-saving cybernetics from others if they are pursuing goals he doesn't approve of?"

Sounds like more liberal "ethics" my comics don't need.

I hope I've misread it.

[Livewire2nd]

I'll pick it up.

[SpyGuy]

Originally Posted by aric_dacia

I love the old Titans... but I hope this Cyborg thing is better than Raven # 1 was. I love Raven and I love Marv Wolfman... but that art was hideous and the story was NOT GOOD. It doesn't bode well for the Winick Titans relaunch and this Cyborg story if that's the level of quality we Titans fans can look forward to.

I totally agree. Maybe it's me, but I'll take "spooky" Raven over "emo" Raven any day...

[marksable]

Originally Posted by Force Commander

Sounded great... until I reached this point:

"...does he have the right to take away his life-saving cybernetics from others if they are pursuing goals he doesn't approve of?"

Sounds like more liberal "ethics" my comics don't need.

I hope I've misread it.

I don't know whether you misread the quote, Force Commander, or I phrased things badly in my answer. It's certainly a fair point to ask whether or not a writer is trying to make a political point with his story, whatever his or her politics are.

Personally, I don't like when writers try to impose their personal politics on longstanding characters, especially when they do so in a way that seems didactic or condescending. I'm here to entertain, be true to the characters. Maybe the story makes you think about things bigger than how many Wildebeest clones Vic can lift at once (answer: seven), but a) that's secondary to my first to goals; and b) I'd hope if there a larger things to think about, you walk away with more questions than answers. Readers a smart enough to draw their own conclusions without writers telling them what to think.

I certainly didn't write this with a political agenda in mind, liberal or otherwise. If it comes across that way in the series than I haven't done my job, which is to tell that story.

That said...whenever you are dealing with a war and wounded veterans, even if they are both fictional, you are touching on the political in the broadest sense of the word. Characters are going to have different viewpoints on these things based on their life experiences, and these viewpoints may change as events in the story do.

But there was certainly no intention to inject my personal views into the story, and I suspect that it would be hard to pin down what those views are after reading the story.

[marksable]

Originally Posted by Hardy

....then we have nothing to fear. I'm not a huge Cyborg fan, but Mark's Grounded mini was rockin' like Dokken, so I'm definitely on board for this. Based on his grasp of "teen heroes" as evinced in said mini, I would really dig on seein' him tackle some more Titans.

Wow, thanks Hardy!

[RockSP]

Originally Posted by Darthphere

but really, what's the point behind this? Who asked for this?

Who asked for Iron Fist?

Ms. Marvel?

[Force Commander]

Great response. I appreciate your taking time out to respond, and so quickly.

Cyborg has been one of my favorites since his first appearance, so it will be nice to see him get a chance to shine on his own.

Thanks again.

Originally Posted by marksable

I don't know whether you misread the quote, Force Commander, or I phrased things badly in my answer. It's certainly a fair point to ask whether or not a writer is trying to make a political point with his story, whatever his or her politics are.

Personally, I don't like when writers try to impose their personal politics on longstanding characters, especially when they do so in a way that seems didactic or condescending. I'm here to entertain, be true to the characters. Maybe the story makes you think about things bigger than how many Wildebeest clones Vic can lift at once (answer: seven), but a) that's secondary to my first to goals; and b) I'd hope if there a larger things to think about, you walk away with more questions than answers. Readers a smart enough to draw their own conclusions without writers telling them what to think.

I certainly didn't write this with a political agenda in mind, liberal or otherwise. If it comes across that way in the series than I haven't done my job, which is to tell that story.

That said...whenever you are dealing with a war and wounded veterans, even if they are both fictional, you are touching on the political in the broadest sense of the word. Characters are going to have different viewpoints on these things based on their life experiences, and these viewpoints may change as events in the story do.

But there was certainly no intention to inject my personal views into the story, and I suspect that it would be hard to pin down what those views are after reading the story.

[marksable]

Originally Posted by swinney72

Just last week I re-read the Cyborg issue of the original NTT origins miniseries, "Tales of the New Teen Titians" #1.

It occurred to me that this one issue was at least as dense as a whole 6 issues of modern comics. The whole story is in that issue with room for tons of soap opera, flash backs, and reaction from the rest of the Titans. I hope his origin doesn't get changed up too much. It was already a classic single issue.

And the person from Vic's past who he thought was dead... it's gotta be Ron!

Swinney, I re-read the issue you're talking about when I started this project and I was blown away by it. It really is amazing to me how much Marv and George were able to capture in that short amount of space (nine panels instead of 4-7 helps, but good luck finding artists who want to draw like that anymore). It was a challenge for us because the first issue features a recap not only of his origin but of his entire history as a character (at least the high points). It's not a retcon, although there are seeds planted there that pay off as the series goes on. Trying to get that much history across in fewer pages and panels per page as Wolfman and Perez, while at the same time making it flow...not easy. Hopefully we pulled it off.

Can't comment on who may or may not be dead

[RockSP]

Has Cyborg ever met Cyborgirl?

[marksable]

Originally Posted by achilles140

I like Cyborg, I always have, and I'm glad he's finally getting his own mini, (and with much better art than the Raven mini). But since when has he been "more than able to hold his own" with Superman? To my recollection, that's been, oh I don't know....NEVER!

He's a great character, but he's always been mid-level in power, never at Kryptonian/Wonder Woman/Captain Marvel levels. That sort of makes me wonder a bit about this.

Yeah...that's a bit of hyperbole on my part. I didn't think it would sound as good if I said "could hold his own against Liberty Belle" (not that I don't love what Geoff is doing with her in JSA).

That said, you'll see Cyborg (or..a cyborg) tangle with another Kryptonian in issue 2, and you can decide whether he holds his own or not.

[Cousin Cory]

Originally Posted by MattBrady

Vic's friend Sarah Simms, who teaches physically disabled children

...the use of the present tense would seem to indicate that, once and for all, "Games" is officially abandoned, or at least, if ever published, will be out of continuity.